Slambell’s Mmm! Mmm! Good!
Kristian Campbell (BOS): 2-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Barely a day after signing an eight-year extension, Kristian Campbell stepped to the plate in the second inning and worked a great at-bat against Charlie Morton. He laid off a curveball just below the knees to get ahead in the count 3-1 and fouled away a cutter. Morton then tried to finish the 22-year-old rookie with a curveball, but it hung over the plate. Campbell crushed it and sent it sailing over the left-field wall for his second home run. Hit 389 feet with an exit velocity of 104.1 mph, Statcast pegged the flyball as a home run in all 30 parks.
He’s hitting .414 with a 1.333 OPS over his first 28 plate appearances. I have a hunch those numbers won’t stick. Nevertheless, he’s commanded the strike zone well with four walks to five strikeouts and demonstrated exceptional bat speed (81st percentile).
He has ridden the fast track since the Red Sox picked him in the fourth round out of Georgia Tech two summers ago and has hit the ground running. He began last year with Double-A Portland, where he slashed .362/.463/.582 with eight home runs and 17 steals across 56 games. He slashed .286/.412/.486 with four home runs and four steals across 19 games with Triple-A Worcester. It’s always best to temper expectations with rookies, but it’s also hard not to get excited about Campbell; his potential to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases at second base is easy to spot. Fantasy managers who took a chance on him, especially early in the draft season, are taking early victory laps.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Thursday:
Triston Casas (BOS): 2-5, HR, R, 2 RBI.
The lefty’s first of the year was a two-run bomb the other way to left in the seventh (377 feet, 101.4 EV). He’s been fairly productive against left-handed pitching with a .344 wOBA and 117 wRC+ over his career (186 PA) and showed it here against Keegan Akin. A left rib strain held Casas to 63 games last year, but he produced a .342 wOBA and 119 wRC+ with 13 home runs, hinting at his ceiling over a full season.
Cedric Mullins (BAL): 1-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB.
Mullins hit leadoff for the first time this year and delivered, drilling a down-and-in sinker from Tanner Houck for a solo shot to right in the first (373 feet, 108.4 EV). Gunnar Henderson’s return will shift Mullins down the order, but he will feature prominently against right-handed pitching. I’ll admit part of me wants to fret about Mullins losing at-bats against left-handed pitchers; he hit .196 against them last year with a .223 wOBA and 41 wRC+ in 101 PA. Regardless, he’s stolen 115 bags and gone yard 79 times over his last four seasons. Until further notice, we can expect another 20/30 type season.
Alex Bregman (BOS): 3-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI.
Our third Red Sox, because, well, there were only five games yesterday. With one and one down in the first, Bregman got a 92 mph sinker that didn’t sink from Charlie Morton and swatted it over the left field fence for his first with his new club (397 feet, 103.8 EV). Last year, Bregman posted the lowest walk rate of his career at 6.9%, matching his rookie season. It’ll be interesting to see if he maintains the aggressive approach with Boston.
Christian Walker (HOU): 2-3, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Old faces in new places. Walker led off the second and deposited a hanging sweeper from Joe Ryan into the second deck at Target Field (402 feet, 104.8 EV) for his first with the Astros. Walker has banged 95 home runs over the past three seasons, ranking third among qualified first basemen behind Pete Alonso (120) and Matt Olson (117). He shouldn’t have a problem calling the recently renamed Daikin Park home; from 2022-24, Minute Maid Park ranked 13th-best for right-handed home runs at 105 according to Statcast’s Park factors. Chase Field ranked 20th at 94.
Jeremy Peña followed Walker’s blast with his second home run of the season (391 feet, 101.8 EV).
Ben Rice (NYY): 1-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB, SB.
Ben Rice didn’t go yard, but he’s worth monitoring. The 26-year-old lefty had a productive spring and hit leadoff last night against Merrill Kelly, with Paul Goldschmidt getting the night off. Austin Wells, who hit leadoff on Opening Day, was also out of the lineup. Still, Rice held an 18.1% walk rate across 30 games with Triple-A Scranton last year and has shown good pop. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Aaron Boone give him another shot at hitting leadoff against right-handed pitching even with Goldschmidt and Wells in the lineup.
Aaron Judge did his thing, tormenting Kelly for his fifth of the year (394 feet, 112.1 EV). It was also his 500th career extra-base hit. He also swiped his first base of the year. Ho hum.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. also torched Kelly for his fourth of the season, a two-run shot, making it 9-3 in the fourth (387 feet, 102.5 EV). Not to be outdone, Trent Grisham also went yard, his first of the year, a two-run shot (354 feet, 95.7 EV).
Geraldo Perdomo (ARI): 1-5, HR, R, 4 RBI.
The D’backs had Perdomo hit second last night with Ketel Marte getting the night off. Hitting righty against the lefty Ryan Yarbrough, the switch-hitting shortstop got the D’backs back in the game with a grand slam in the seventh. But this was the definition of a Yankee Stadium short porch home run (345 feet, 96.1 EV). Perdomo hasn’t shown much with the stick outside of making a lot of contact. There’s nothing to see here.
Michael Toglia (COL): 1-4.
Toglia’s single (can you tell it’s a slow news day?) came on a 100 mph sinker from José Alvarado in the ninth and was at least hit hard (109.1 EV). However, two more strikeouts have him striking out at a 60% clip, and he hasn’t drawn a walk through his first 24 PA. Yes, last year’s Statcast page was painted in glorious red, but the one thing that wasn’t was his whiff rate. It’s still early, of course. But if you had been banking on Toglia as your corner infielder, reviewing your other options might not be a bad idea. At the very least, Coors Field lies ahead as a potential reprieve with the Rockies hosting the A’s this weekend.
Kyle Schwarber (PHI): 1-5, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Schwarber led off in the seventh with the Phillies ahead 1-0, and added to the lead with a majestic drive to the second deck in right-center off left-hander Luis Peralta (444 feet, 109.8 EV). He remains just about as reliable a slugger as you’ll find. He’s hit 131 home runs over the past three seasons, trailing only Shohei Ohtani (132) and Aaron Judge (157).
Brendan Rodgers (HOU): 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI.
Rodgers was once a big prospect before injuries dwindled his stock. We’ve seen two seasons from him with over 500 plate appearances, and both ended with him hitting 13 home runs while playing half his games at Coors Field. The 28-year-old righty owns a career .315 wOBA and .266 batting average over 1,847 PA. Not exactly exciting, but he’s started five of the Astros’ seven games, and could be a stopgap middle infielder for those in deep leagues.
Heston Kjerstad (BAL): 1-2, 2B, R.
Those who scooped the young lefty off waivers might’ve been disappointed seeing him sit Wednesday, but that was against Garrett Crochet. He hit sixth yesterday and banged a double off Tanner Houck. Kjerstad has shown plenty of power in the minors and should have a regular role with Colton Cowser on the IL, although I’ll be interested to see if the O’s give him a shot against LHP not named Crochet.
Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)
